THE recent outcry by the Senate against the processes adopted in privatising some enterprises hitherto run by the public sector is no more than an indication, or confirmation of a major disconnect between the aim and the outcome of the exercise. Having regard to unhealthy and unproductive state of the enterprises under the state, the objective of privatising them is faultless. That the concerns remain a shadow of themselves after being sold off is a matter of grave public discomfiture.However, in furtherance of its oversight functions, the upper federal legislative house needs to do a job more thorough than it has so far done. For instance, the lawmakers apparently did not avail themselves of opportunity of meeting some principal public officers, including former head of state Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, involved in the exercise. It is in the interest of justice and fairness that the Senate hears from the other side of the coin, before indicting the personnel for their action.It is customary for badly run state enterprises to be passed on to those private sector concerns that could manage them better and turn losses into profits. Privatisation was seen as a rescue plan, government having failed in its running of Railways, Airways, Telecommunications and many other endeavours.Under Obasanjo's administration, an attempt was made to sell off government owned loss-making enterprises. It will appear as events have now proven that the privatisation programme embarked upon was merely a leap from frying pan to fire as the privatised companies have shown neither promise nor profit and have indeed increased the unemployment burden of Nigeria.Former president Obasanjo set up two bodies in 1999 to manage privatisation. The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) which was the supervisory body whilst the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) was the operational arm of the privatisation and commercialisation programme of the Federal Government. Between these two bodies, it has been alleged that several choice national assets were sold to cronies and political associates. For instance, the giant Ajaokuta steel company was sold to an Indian consortium sponsored by well-connected Nigerians. The Indians, rather than turn around the ailing company as expected, proceeded on a frenzied asset -stripping of valuables to India. The country in an irony of fate is today importing steel products from India at the same time as Ajaokuta lies fallow and mothballed.A second example was the sale of the Volkswagen of Nigeria Ltd (VON) in 2005. The buyers were expected to manufacture motor vehicles for the Nigerian market. Instead, the huge complex was converted into warehouses for imported vegetable oils, sugar, rice and fertilizer; with no single sign of motor vehicles manufacturing. A third example is the sale of the iconic but loss making Daily Times of Nigeria (DTN). The new buyers were apparently more interested in selling off DTN's properties in London than in revamping the fortunes of the newspaper.There are still more examples of the scandal that has become the story of privatisation in Nigeria. Some companies were sold at prices markedly below their value. For some, the due process was not followed at all. Apparently, there was to be only one account to lodge the proceeds of privatisation. In the aftermath, eight different accounts have been found. More disturbing, of the N301 billion that was realised, less than 50 percent of the money actually reached the Privatisation Proceeds Account.Clearly something had gone drastically wrong with the privatisation policy of the Federal Government. The Senate's ad hoc committee set up, in response to the odious scheme, to investigate the entire privatisation programme from 1999 till now found the entire exercise reeking of 'executive recklessness'. Several members have called for the prosecution of former President Obasanjo for his alleged part in the privatisation saga. Some have also called on President Goodluck Jonathan to show his commitment to anti-corruption by seeing this matter to its logical conclusion.On the face of it, the process of privatisation has been compromised. But in order to be seen to have done a thorough job, the Senate must invite Obasanjo to state his own side of the story. In our view, it is only when the major stakeholders including Obasanjo have been heard that one can say that the report has been adequately concluded and that subsequent developments will not suffer from 'lack of fair hearing' pleas.The Senate too should be concerned about the harsh business environment of Nigeria. The country has no roads, no railway, no reliable electricity or water. These factors would normally militate against development and industrialisation. If the cost of doing business in Nigeria is so high, we can expect that some new ventures will flounder.Finally we may regret the shoddy manner in which privatisation has been handled, but we cannot deny the fact that the companies in question have been sold by a legitimate government of Nigeria. What the Senate and all well meaning Nigerians should insist upon is that all those who abused or circumvented the process or the legal provisions of the privatisation programme should be brought to book.
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